MANY residents will understand the desire of Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Councillor Stephen Geenhalgh to cut the debt left by the previous Labour administration, but all residents should question why this desire is manifesting itself now (Hundreds of jobs to go in sweeping cuts, Chronicle, January 14).

Fiscal responsibility dictates that governments should reduce debt in the good times so that it can be increased to maintain services in the bad times.

Labour ignored this when they were in power, spending like mad, while ignoring the effect on the deficit.

When the Tories took over the council in 2006, they also ignored fiscal responsibility, cutting tax like mad while ignoring the effect on the deficit.

Now all residents, and particularly the most vulnerable, are having to pay for the lack of fiscal responsibility shown by the other parties.

Of course, there may be a simpler explanation for Mr Greenhalgh's cuts. Like a good Tory, he favours 'small government' regardless of the social impact. But what services and premises will be left to fulfil Prime Minister David Cameron's Big Society idea?

Mr Greenhalgh could simply be using the national economic problems caused by Labour as an excuse to implement right-wing Tory policies to cut services.

Whichever explanation is true, the Liberal Democrats will do everything they can to fight these cuts, but our unfair voting system means the Tories can ignore our concerns as well as those of residents.